Buckley: Dain Dainja wanted to be a small forward. Memphis had other ideas.
Memphis forward Dain Dainja, center, looks to shoot while defended by Florida Atlantic guard Leland Walker (2) and forward Kaleb Glenn, right, during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game Sunday, Feb. 23, 2025, in Memphis. (Nikki Boertman/AP Photo)
Tim Buckley
Tim is a veteran sportswriter who graduated from CBHS in Memphis and the University of Missouri. He previously covered LSU sports in Baton Rouge, and the University of Louisiana football and basketball for The Daily Advertiser/USA TODAY Network in Lafayette, the NBA’s Utah Jazz for the Deseret News in Salt Lake City, the NHL’s Tampa Bay Lightning for the St. Petersburg Times in Florida, and West Texas State basketball for the Amarillo Globe News in Texas.
John Jakus knows the old Dain Dainja.
The one who fancied himself as a small forward back at Baylor, the first of his three college stops. The one who didn’t figure his time with the Bears would be long, visions of a quick jump to the NBA dancing instead in his head. The one whose college career was derailed his freshman season, by a broken foot and the surgery that followed.
All that was in 2020.
It’s 2025 now, and Jakus — previously an assistant coach at Baylor, and currently in his first season as head coach at Florida Atlantic — has been force-fed a double spoonful of the new Dain Dainja.
The one starting down low for the No. 22 Memphis Tigers.
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